


A Temple of Her Own

by MrRhapsodist



Series: Her Dark Desire [3]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Action & Romance, Adventure, Escape, F/F, F/M, Intrigue, Magical Artifacts, Philosophy, Polyamorous Character, Romance, Sexual Content, Ziost (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-24 23:33:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22006264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrRhapsodist/pseuds/MrRhapsodist
Summary: Darth Imperius has come to claim an artifact on Ziost, only to be ambushed and caught by one of her oldest rivals. To escape and claim what's rightfully hers, she needs the help of her apprentice and her beloved, Ashara Zavros, who has something to teach her for once.
Relationships: Andronikos Revel/Female Sith Inquisitor, Female Sith Inquisitor/Ashara Zavros
Series: Her Dark Desire [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1583305
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter One

Streaking across the depths of space, the _Kissai_ cut power to its thrusters. Against the backdrop of the icy world of Ziost, the Sith interceptor settled into a slow glide into orbit. Lights flashed along its underbelly, receiving signals from the planet. A burst of static preceded a series of rising and falling beeps transmitted to a receiver array on the surface. Within minutes, codes for clearance were exchanged. The _Kissai_ dipped and began its long descent to the twisted forests and mountains below.

Around a conference table in the main hold, Fidelia Kallig gathered her crew. She sat at the head of the table, sans steel mask and the traditional black robes of a Dark Councilor. Resting in her preferred crimson attire, she considered the beings who reported to her in turn.

“We’re clear to touch down half a klick outside Varion’s tower.” Andronikos Revel lounged with his arms crossed. He cast a smirk at the Sith Lord. “Seems he doesn’t want us getting _too_ close.”

“It’s a show of dominance, and a pitiful one at that.” This bitter voice came from the horrifying maw of Khem Val, whose Dashade body was now the host to Darth Zash’s spirit. As she spoke, the creature’s eyes burned with a violet gleam—the Sith Master’s aura. “Lord Varion may have once been a proud warrior, but he’s a minor functionary of the Emperor’s court. Good for little more than rounding up prospects to train on Korriban.”

Fidelia’s hands tightened in her lap, but she remained silent.

“If _I_ might be so bold, Your Excellency?” Talos Drellik stirred from the other end of the table. He nervously brushed at the front of his gray uniform. “We might as well play along. That is, even if you outrank this Lord Varion, we will need his goodwill to access the excavation site.”

“Goodwill?” Zash barked out a laugh. “There’s none to be found with Varion. He _knows_ what he found in the southern hemisphere, and he won’t let anyone get close.” Khem Val’s eyes narrowed as Zash turned to her former apprentice. “Your servants are already onsite. Best be on the move before Varion realizes what we’ve done.”

Fidelia said nothing. She closed her one good eye, steering her mind toward the dark currents emanating from a tower on the planet’s surface.

She could see it clearly. A massive obsidian spire built into the side of a mountain, flanked by gnarled black woods and long-gutted quarries. Hundreds of slaves tended those trees and kept the gardens that ringed the base of the tower, while an eerie blue light burned at the summit. Whispers of the dark side of the Force, of Sith ghosts and sacrificed slaves, coiled around the tower from base to peak, and at its height, in private chambers, sat the very man who had brought Fidelia Kallig to Korriban all those years ago.

Now Darth Imperius, ruler of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, had come to his doorstep.

“We must stand firm,” Fidelia announced. Steepling her fingers together, she regarded the others with a steady gaze. “Hold the center while my apprentices manage their end on the outskirts. Keep Varion’s focus on us, and we’ll have a few more assets on our side before this whole farce is over.”

Zash shook her head. “A farce, indeed. Xalek is skilled and strong. But I continue to have my doubts about the other one.”

Fidelia almost smiled. She rose from her chair, as did the others.

“Ashara has never let me down,” she insisted.

* * *

Their ship touched down on an icy plain ringed with ancient stones, almost in view of the mountain and Darth Varion’s tower. A bitter chill settled over Fidelia the moment she stepped onto the landing ramp and set foot on Ziost. She welcomed the cold. A piercing sensation to temper her mind and bury her burning desires.

She would strike only when she had all the pieces in hand.

From beyond the rocky perimeter, two hooded figures emerged. They wore crimson armor under black robes and marched in a perfectly matched cadence. Fidelia could not see their faces behind their steel faceplates, but a whisper of the Force put her on guard.

“I am grateful for this welcoming committee,” she said with a courteous bow of her head.

Neither of the Sith servants spoke. One of them turned their head and made a slight gesture.

At once, dozens of Imperial soldiers in full body armor came out of hiding. Blaster rifles drawn, they advanced in a tightening ring around Fidelia and her crew. She felt Revel’s ire spike, both hands going for his blasters, but a warning growl from Darth Zash made him reconsider. Drellik shrank back behind the massive Dashade, as no fewer than ten soldiers trained their weapons on the hulking beast. Half of them were armed with stun staffs and riot batons, ready to subdue a raging monster before it could go berserk.

Through it all, Fidelia remained motionless. She fixed the hooded servants with a gentle smile.

“I _have_ an appointment with your master,” she said. “Surely, he’s not too busy?”

“Lord Varion,” said one of the servants through an electronic voice box, “has detained two of your spies. Until this matter is settled, you will be taken into custody.”

Fidelia dropped her smile. Were she a younger woman, she would have cloaked herself with the Force and run both agents through with her lightsaber. She’d have savored their deaths in the millisecond before the troops opened fire and the slaughter began.

Thankfully, she _was_ older. And she would not jeopardize her seat on the Council over this trifle.

“Very well,” she replied. Fidelia glanced back and nodded to her crew. “Let’s be on our way.”

But, as she fell into step with Varion’s minions, a black dread wormed its way into her heart. Fidelia’s hand ached for the familiar touch of a Togruta girl by her side. And the thought of her and Xalek, beaten down and dragged into holding cells like caged beasts, made her blood simmer like it hadn’t in months.

* * *

Darth Varion awaited them at the foot of his tower, halfway down carved stone steps leading to the entrance. He looked about the same as when Fidelia had first met him: gaunt and pale, with reptilian yellow eyes and a permanent sneer. He’d added a few layers of black armor under his robes, along with a pair of impressive gauntlets. He resembled the Sith Emperor in so many ways, but with one clear distinction.

When Fidelia had received her first audience after her ascension, the Emperor’s presence had overwhelmed her senses with its raw power and centuries of practiced malice. What she felt in Varion was a spike of fear, ringing out despite the strength he radiated in his appearance.

That fear was useful. Fidelia filed it away for the future.

“I am disappointed, Lady Imperius,” the Sith Lord said in a booming voice. “You did not think me such a fool as to not notice your spies trespassing on my grounds, surely?”

“My apologies, Lord Varion.” Fidelia bowed at the waist. “I did not realize that _you_ had authority beyond a member of the Dark Council. Perhaps Darth Marr would be surprised to hear this, too.”

“Marr is not here.” Varion squinted. “Nor is the Emperor. I alone am in charge here.”

Fidelia met his gaze without flinching. She looked deeper, past to where the spike of fear had risen deep in his chest. That gnawing parasite of protective dread, eating away at his own layers of defense.

“For now,” she replied.

Varion’s eyes blazed with wrath. He gestured at his two minions. “To the dungeons with her! And her companions!” As his voice echoed over the frozen wastes, his expression settled into a wicked smile. “Give them a taste of our hospitality, and find out what they’re keeping from us.”

Armored gauntlets grabbed Fidelia by her arms, and she permitted herself to be marched around the tower to the dungeon’s mouth. She smiled the whole time, but inside, her heart blazed with a fire that she struggled to maintain.

* * *

Revel spat Corellian curses at his captors as they dragged him off. Khem Val growled while Zash kept silent, no doubt plotting. Drellik did not utter a word as they forced him into his own cell.

Fidelia smiled and nodded graciously as they led her to one of the darkest, coldest tunnels in the mountain. She gingerly crossed the threshold, entering her private cell before they slammed the door behind her with a deafening thud.

In the darkness, she felt a light flicker.

“My lord?” a timid voice called out.

Fidelia’s heart nearly burst. “My sweet...”

Blind in the cell, she raced forward, arms outstretched. She caught Ashara Zavros halfway across the cell, feeling for her horns and head-tails in the dark, caressing the sides of her face before kissing it. Fidelia tasted fear and despair in the girl’s presence, and she pulled back as her eyes adjusted. When she saw the girl’s expression of concern, Fidelia’s heart melted.

“Why so sad, my love?” Fidelia shook her head. “I don’t recall giving you permission to be sad.”

“I failed you.” A tiny whisper cut through the gloom, as Ashara’s eyes dropped. “Xalek and I... they found us near the dig site as soon as we landed. Xalek rushed forward to kill every witness, and I offered my support from the rear, but...” She winced. “They were ready. They had us outnumbered, and Varion _had_ the artifact. He had kyber crystals charged and ready as soon as we set foot—”

“Hush, darling.” Fidelia kissed the Togruta on the brow. She laughed into the girl’s skin and stroked one of her horns. “It’s all right. I’m here now.”

“But it’s our fault. Master, if we’d only sensed the danger—”

“This mission would be dangerous no matter how it turned out.” Fidelia continued to stroke Ashara’s face, keeping another hand pressed into the small of her back. “I trusted that you and Xalek would handle ourselves, no matter what happened. Even if you were caught.”

When she sensed a glimmer of resentment in the girl’s heart, Fidelia cupped Ashara’s chin and looked her in the eye. “What is it?”

“Xalek.” Ashara’s voice went low. “When he saw the artifact in Varion’s grasp, I could see his thoughts. He wanted it for himself.”

“Of course he did.”

“But, my lord—”

“He’s a Kaleesh who clawed his way to the top.” Fidelia shrugged. “He may revere me, but he’s a Sith who wants to claim the mantle of mastery someday. That’s our way, my dear. The Jedi are sworn to defend others. The Sith are driven to conquer.” She smiled in the darkness. “That’s how Varion set his trap. He knew I couldn’t resist the bait.”

Ashara nodded, her face nestled in the Sith Lord’s shoulder. “The artifact. You mentioned it could heal, but... I never knew it had power like _that._ ”

“The Medicron is a gift and a curse, depending on how it’s used.” Fidelia bristled at the thought of Varion’s clutches on that prize. That holocron-style device, pyramidal in shape and flickering with a sickly green light, just as it had appeared in the ancient texts. “Attuned to the light, it can restore someone to full health. But when bound to the dark side, it corrupts its victim’s cells. What you felt, my dear Ashara, was merely a taste of its true power.”

As she spoke, Fidelia heard footsteps outside their door. The dedicated march of guards taking their post. She calmed herself with a slow-drawn breath.

“In any case, don’t blame yourself.” Fidelia hugged Ashara to her chest, savoring the warmth and scent of the Togruta’s body. “Being stuck in a cell with you is a personal fantasy of mine.”

Hearing Ashara’s embarrassed laugh made the entire ordeal worthwhile.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the artifact and her adversary revealed, Fidelia Kallig puts her plan into action.

When the guards arrived, the torture began without a word.

At Fidelia’s silent urging, she and Ashara made no move to resist. A stun baton shoved into Fidelia’s stomach made her reel, but she remained standing. Ashara flinched, one hand reaching out, but another guard batted it away with a crackling electroshock whip. The Togruta yelped. Her eyes glazed over as they continued to assault her, her breath slowing as she fell deeper into one of her Jedi calming techniques.

Fidelia, however, had never been one for calm acceptance. She brooded with hate written across her face. Every insult and question they hurled, she parried with a silent snarl. When an armored trooper put his boot into her neck and began shouting  _ Who else knows _ at her, Fidelia clenched her jaw and bore the pressure.

It took half an hour for the attacks to stop. When they did, the guards marched out without a word and locked the door behind them.

Fidelia lay collapsed and bruised on the ground. Her ocular implant, cold and blue, flickered on and off from where Varion’s guard had punched at it. She lay on her side, curling into herself and hitching as she tried to breathe.

Ashara crept over, her hands warm and trembling when they touched her master’s face.

“My love,” Fidelia whispered. “My sweet girl...”

A shadow passed over the Togruta’s face. “I’ll destroy him for this. I promise you I will.”

“I’m sure you will...” Fidelia broke off into a coughing fit. She spat blood and wiped at her lips, grateful for the soothing pulse of energy that radiating from Ashara’s fingers. Not the full healing that a trained Jedi might have offered, but it was enough.

She didn’t resist when Ashara pulled Fidelia’s head into her lap. Stroking her matted hair, caressing her cheekbones, the girl offered every ounce of tenderness. Fidelia offered silent thanks to the Force for this gift. She’d once flinched away from her student’s touch, one night on Dromund Kaas, when they’d first begun their intimate relationship. Fidelia had never allowed herself to be properly held. She always initiated those touches, either with Ashara or Revel. Tracing her finger along their jawlines, teasing them for a kiss or an adoring smile.

Fidelia reached out until she found Revel. In a distant cell, his mind blazed with calculations, tactics, and a lifetime of pirate’s tricks. When his mind felt her presence coil around him, the old pilot tensed up. He relaxed when Fidelia showed him an image of her at the helm of the  _ Kissai, _ leaning into his strong arms as they charted a course through hyperspace. Alone in the cockpit.

Revel laughed, and Fidelia smiled. She’d enjoyed their nights together in her ship’s quarters. More twisted sheets and passionate kisses than the softer touches she offered Ashara when they were alone together.

As a Sith, Fidelia Kallig would cross any boundary she pleased. But with Ashara, she would wait until the girl was ready. She’d never spoil so fair a creature.

Those guards, on the other hand, would get everything they deserved. For daring to touch her.

* * *

Hours passed in silence. Ashara and Fidelia knelt across from each other in the cell, meditating as their injuries slowly healed. It was an odd feeling, as Fidelia brooded on the swirling rage in her heart while Ashara sought peace from the universe around her. They could have blasted open that cell door with all the Force energy building up between them.

Instead, the door blasted open from the  _ outside. _

Revel stuck his blasters in through the smoke, followed by his scarred face. “Ladies, you need a ride outta here?”

“Absolutely.” Fidelia stood and offered her hand to Ashara. They proceeded to the door, where Fidelia took the initiative by sweeping up the old pirate in a glad-to-be-alive kiss. As Ashara blushed and glanced away, Fidelia sensed a tinge of jealousy. She smiled into Revel’s rough lips and pulled back to regard both her husband and her lover.

“With any luck, Zash and Drellik should be nearby,” she told them. “But, without lightsabers, this will be difficult.”

“Already thought of that.” From his belt, Revel produced a pair of weapons. He cast a sidelong glance at Ashara. “Sorry, kid. I could only find one of your sabers.”

The Togruta shrugged. “I’ll manage, but thanks for trying.”

Fidelia stroked the handle of her double-bladed weapon. A twist of the Force brought both crimson beams to life, and she gave a flourish that illuminated the cell and the corridor outside. She imagined running Varion through, but that wasn’t enough. No, far better to beat him down and break him as she did with Thanaton and so many rivals before him.

Footsteps thundered at the other end of the hallway. Fidelia sensed a dozen alert minds and two dozen hands priming blasters as they arrived.

“Let’s begin,” she whispered, and she lifted one of her blades in a salute before stepping forward.

* * *

In the storm of blasterfire that spread throughout the tower, Fidelia had to pause every so often. Not only to catch her breath and channel more fury into each attack, but to admire the speed and style of her allies in battle.

Revel was a deft shot with his blasters, ducking behind corners and taking down soldiers before they could even pull the trigger. But the true marvel along the winding obsidian halls was Ashara. Even armed with a single lightsaber, she wove through a blend of Soresu deflections and Ataru leaps, evading each barrage and catching enough bolts to send them back at her opponents. Fidelia watched the young Force-user eliminate a whole squad with precise footwork and subtle shifts of her weapon, battering back each wave of blaster bolts until she walked over a heap of fallen soldiers in smoking armor.

There was a strange peace in her motion. Fidelia almost envied her for it.

All their training had paid off. The girl was a perfect blend of Sith passion and Jedi skill.

By the time Fidelia and Revel reached her side, Ashara stood at the final staircase leading to Varion’s private sanctum. The Togruta extinguished her saber and sagged against the stone wall, as Fidelia moved to catch her by the arm.

“Rest now,” she urged Ashara. “We’ll handle this.”

Ashara nodded, and Fidelia couldn’t resist. She planted a firm kiss right on those lips before letting her go.

She ignored Revel’s teasing grin as they cut down the doors to the sanctum.

* * *

“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come,” Lord Varion called out.

He stood on a raised dais near the back of the chamber. The room was lit with blood-red candles on the floor and cracked glow panels in the ceiling. Enclosed by stone walls and old tapestries, the Sith’s sanctum was a total mess of styles both old and new. Fidelia regarded it, along with its master, with an outright glare.

On the floor before the dais knelt Varion’s prisoners. Khem Val was passed out, and Fidelia sensed nothing from Zash but a dark, dormant pulse within. Beside the brute, Talos Drellik was hunched over and straining to breathe. His face had gone pale and blotched, as if his body was being devoured from the inside out. When Fidelia approached, she stood in between the two, putting her hands on their shoulders and sending a faint echo of her inner light.

Her rage boiled behind that light, reserved for the hooded man on the dais.

“The Medicron is magnificent,” he insisted, lifting the green-lit artifact with one hand. “Imagine how many slaves were cut down to feed its inner furnace. Imagine all the lives it saved—and ended—once the Sith Lords of old began to use it.”

“I can imagine how good it’ll feel,” Fidelia replied, “once it’s in  _ my _ hand and you’re dead at my feet.”

Varion regarded her with a sneer. “A pleasant dream, but nothing more. Once this artifact is delivered to the Emperor, I will have earned my seat on the Council. And you, a mere Kallig, will be forever remembered as a deluded  _ slave _ cut down for all her trouble.”

Fidelia let instinct take over. She extinguished her lightsaber and called a storm of lightning forth from both hands. A feral scream escaped her lips as she snarled and threw lightning at Varion. Power coursed through her until she could feel her capillaries begin to thicken and burst.

But the other Sith Lord did not move. He held the Medicron and laughed.

Inside, her cells began to wither. Fidelia choked on the decay coursed through her. The kyber crystals within the Medicron’s shell burned brighter than a supernova and about as hot. Her skin bubbled and blotched as she dropped to her knees. Revel rushed forward, but a twitch from Varion sent him skidding back into a wall. Then he, too, fell onto all fours, gagging as a sudden bout of rot attacked him from within.

Choking on bile, Fidelia stared with pure hate at Varion. She saw the fear spike in his heart, and she remembered that same fear from a different time.

He’d been afraid when she’d lashed out at her master on the old estate. When she’d broken her chains and killed without hesistation, proving herself a born Sith. Varion had applauded her feat at the time, masking that fear behind a voice of bravado. He’d been equally hopeful when he brought a young Fidelia to Korriban to begin her training at the academy.

But Darth Zash had intervened, and she never saw the man again.

Fidelia drew on those memories, using them to feed her pain. Pain fed her anger, and anger fed the lightning that poured against her opponent.

But nothing landed. Not a single fork of lightning touched the old fool.

Fidelia closed her eyes against the rising tide of defeat. She tasted blood and bile, and she crumpled to a prostrate position on the ancient stone floor.

“Ahh, and here is another,” Varion said with a chuckle. “A failed Jedi comes to your aid. I look forward to breaking her as well...”

Without looking back, without trying to rise, Fidelia sensed Ashara enter the room. She couldn’t form the words to warn her.

She could only reach out a hand.

Through the Force, Ashara’s hand reached back. Their bond sang of sunlight and shadow, as loud and powerful as ocean waves against a rocky cliff face. Fidelia dug into the light Ashara offered, and she felt something shift inside her cells.

Her jaw dropped as she finally turned to regard the young woman.

Ashara stood resolute at the entrance, both hands outstretched. But in the Force, she was shot through with lines of destiny and power, as pure as any kyber crystal from the Jedha desert. That light formed a lattice around the girl, infusing her with all the strength and love Fidelia needed to rise to her feet once more. And as Fidelia stood, she grasped what was happening within her. A shift from darkness to the light, like the end of an eclipse.

In Varion’s hand, the Medicron flickered. Fidelia turned and stared, holding back her dark power while she reached for the light in Ashara’s hands.

She reached forward, and with a twist of her will, she yanked the Medicron into her grasp.

It shone green like a newly grown forest, like blades of grass under the sun. Fidelia smiled in triumph as Varion drew back. He stared down at his empty gauntlets.

“You weren’t wrong,” said Fidelia, brimming with savage joy as the kyber crystals burned in her grip. “I was a slave when you found me. But you were never my master, and this gift was never yours to claim, Varion.”

Inside the Medicron, it green light faded to a sickly pale yellow, and she unleashed all her fury.

* * *

When it was over, there was nothing left but a rotted corpse on the dais, smoldering and slack-jawed inside a set of armor and robes. Fidelia decided not to bother spitting on the late Lord Varion. She turned her attention back to the Medicron.

Closing her eyes, she felt the artifact’s power hum with the light side of the Force, and she let that sparkling aura wash over everyone else in the room, soaking through every single cell.

“Never let it be said,” said Darth Imperius, “that I am not without  _ some _ small mercy...”


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One Sith Lord falls, and another claims their prize. Meanwhile, Ashara shares an insight with her beloved.

It was a cold dawn when Fidelia saw the first line of Sith shuttles descend outside her new tower. She stood where Varion had once been, halfway down the front steps, her hood raised as she watched ramps lower and robed minions emerge. They were Humans, Togrutas, Twi’leks, Bith, and a handful of Sith Purebloods. Some were former pupils of Darth Zash; others, acolytes of the late Lord Thanaton. But they all came and knelt before their mistress at the foot of the tower. The wind buffeted her robes, causing it to spead like wings around her.

Fidelia smiled. “Here is where we will build for ourselves. We serve the Emperor, but on this world, at  _ this _ place... we will find our own power. Begin renovations, and bring what artifacts you find to me at once.”

The crowd dispersed, and Fidelia felt another chill settle over her heart. She turned and headed back into the first chamber of the tower.

Xivhkalrainik, better known as Xalek among her crew, stood inside with arms crossed over his massive chest. His tattered hood was raised, revealing only his animal bone mask and a series of tribal tattoos. Among the obsidian statues and tapestries of the chamber, the Kaleesh could have been another prize given how motionless he stood. Yellow eyes narrowed to slits behind his mask, but he still knelt when Fidelia approached.

“Master,” said Xalek in a deep voice. “You have orders for me?”

Fidelia smiled. “For you? No. But I have a message, my apprentice.”

Without warning, dark power gathered at her fingers, and she watched the Kaleesh’s eyes bulge. He clawed at his throat, his impressive statute turned comical as Fidelia willed him to rise into the air. Between his flailing feet and hands, the alien was no longer a proud Sith warrior, but a pathetic clown who danced for her.

Fidelia smiled, her eye half-closed. “You failed to claim the Medicron for yourself. You failed to usurp my place, apprentice.”

“M-Master...” Xalek’s voice came out as a hideous rasp. He strained to look down at her, still rising into the air. “My life!” He gasped again. “My life is yours...!”

“Yes, it is. Never forget that.” With a careless wave, Fidelia turned away. The Force that gripped the Kaleesh student collapsed, and he tumbled to the ground with a sickening thud. He groaned, but when he rose, he made it to his knees.

“Master...” Xalek kept his head bowed. Clawed hands dug into his thighs. “I am your student...”

“And someday, you will be a Master.” Fidelia walked in a slow circle around the lowly warrior, keeping both her eye and ocular implant trained on him. “But until that day, you will study each secret the dark side has to reveal. You will learn to rely on more than brute strength. And while you may disdain Ashara’s ways, you  _ will _ respect the strength she possesses. Is that clear?”

Xalek snarled something in his native tongue. But he kept his head low. “It is clear, my lord.”

“Good.” Fidelia came to a halt near the turbolift. It was old and dusty, and she’d summon a pair of servants to fix it in due time. “Go south, my apprentice. You will find plenty of good hunting there to sate your hunger.”

A wicked gleam entered Xalek’s eyes when he lifted his head. “As you command, my lord.”

He rose and stalked out of the tower, leaving Fidelia alone in the turbolift with her thoughts.

* * *

When she arrived at the private sanctum, Fidelia was pleased to see Drellik hard at work. He was bent over a table, studying the script of ancient scrolls and tapestries that the late Darth Varion had hidden away. He whispered excitedly to himself, and he’d occasionally stop to make a note in his datapad. Fidelia let him be, though she was eager herself to pick the archaeologist’s brain about his latest findings.

In a far corner of the room, Zash regained her strength in meditation. In Khem Val’s body, she sat cross-legged against a stone wall, her head bowed. Fidelia felt the dark side swirling into a nexus around the Sith sorcerer’s mind, and she knew better than to interrupt a delicate procedure.

“Hey.” Fidelia turned at the sound of Revel’s voice. She slid easily into his arms and delivered a quick kiss. “You’ve got messages, if you’re interested.”

“I’d rather have you,” she whispered with a sly grin.

Revel nodded, his eyes going soft. “Anytime. I’m your man.” His content smile faded. “But, well, one of them  _ was _ from the Dark Council, so I figure...”

“Right, right. Mustn’t step on any toes.” Fidelia offered another kiss to his scarred cheek. “And the other?”

“It’s Ashara.” Revel shrugged. “I dunno. Kid’s back on the ship. Wanted to speak in private when you’ve got time.”

Fidelia pictured that girl sitting alone in her quarters. “Very well. I’ll find you later, Captain.”

* * *

Inside a private room two floors down, Fidelia knelt as a holographic transceiver flared to life. Blue lines formed in the air, revealing the stern visage of Darth Marr.

“Lady Imperius,” he greeted. “I would have your report about your activities on Ziost.”

“My lord,” Fidelia replied, her head low. “All is well. Lord Varion died for his disgrace in battle, and the Medicron is currently under observation. It remains well-tested for its plague capacity, but its healing effects will require more time to study.”

“Hmm.” Even across the vast distance of Sith-controlled space, Fidelia could feel Marr’s eyes burning through her as it had that fateful day in the Citadel. That slow-moving fire had been a mere echo of the Emperor’s power, but it dwarfed whatever strength Thanaton and the others might have carried. In her heart, Fidelia imagined that she might one day challenge Marr for control of the Council. It would be the next step in her larger plans.

But, truth be told, she didn’t  _ want _ the Council. Or the responsibility. Let her gather what trinkets she could find. Let her plunder the lost tombs of Force-users across the galaxy, and let her play with her pirate husband and her Jedi lover to her heart’s content. Fidelia Kallig would answer to no one for as long as she could, with whatever power she possessed.

She swore it by the stars themselves. They would outlive both the Jedi and the Sith.

“Your plan, while unorthodox, has proven a success.” Darth Marr inclined his head in a rare show of respect. “You have leave to do with Varion’s holdings as you will. Report whatever else you find on Ziost, and cooperate with our military forces there as needed. That will be all.”

“Thank you, my lord.” Fidelia bowed her head once more as the hologram faded away.

When she rose to her feet, she marveled at the strangeness of it all. As Darth Imperius, she was elated. Her power base was secure, and her operations would continue without interference. But as Fidelia Kallig, she felt a small empty spot deep in her chest. An echo of healing energy that had been absent for several hours. Ever since she had last touched the Medicron.

Fortunately, she knew exactly where to find more of that light.

* * *

“I’m glad you could make time for me.” Fidelia lay in bed beside the Togruta girl, their fingers locked as they pressed against each other. Both of them were half-clothed and sweating, their eyes giddy as they shared brief, fleeting kisses.

“Anything for you.” Ashara’s eyes sparkled. “This was more than I could have asked for.”

When she had arrived at the ship, Fidelia went straight for the Togruta’s quarters. No sooner had the door opened than Fidelia had offered a silent question with her eyes. Ashara had responded by throwing her arms around the Sith Lord, and their lips met with a shared moan.

They fell back onto the young woman’s bed, and Fidelia had bucked slowly against the girl, stripping her clothes and finding her way to a magical spot between her lover’s legs. Watching her strain and wrestle with her feelings as Fidelia teased that spot, their bodies undulating together, had made both women wet with desire for each other. When Ashara had flipped her mistress over and knelt between her legs, Fidelia was overjoyed at how well her lessons with the Togruta had paid off. They slid against one another for the better part of an hour, sweating and laughing, until they collapsed in a tangle beneath Ashara’s bed sheets.

In the afterglow, as recycled air pumped in through the ship’s vents, Fidelia shivered. She traced a line along the curve of her student’s breast and smiled.

“When you came for me in that battle,” she said, whispering into Ashara’s ear, “I felt something shift in you. It was... unexpected. A strength I hadn’t seen before. The way you handled your lightsaber. And the gift of your energy flowing into me when I needed to claim the Medicron.” Fidelia smiled. Not a wicked grin or a teasing smirk, but a genuinely happy expression. “It was wonderful. More than I could have asked for.”

Ashara’s face clouded over. “Can I be honest?”

“I’d be upset if you weren’t.” Fidelia leaned in to kiss her on the brow. “Go ahead.”

For a moment, the Togruta said nothing. She laid her head on a pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Not for a second did she let go of Fidelia’s hand or leave her side.

“When they caught me...” Ashara hesitated for a second. “When they threw me and Xalek into those cells, I had a long time to think. And there was this lesson of Master Ocera’s, from back on Taris, that I was trying to understand in the light of everything that had happened. From the way Xalek charged in without thinking to how they trapped us both. And how quickly I’d healed myself using the light of the Force.”

Fidelia kept silent. She nodded for the girl to continue.

“Master Ocera, he taught me something like what you said in the dungeon. That the Jedi use their power for knowledge and defense, and how the Sith only use theirs to destroy and rule others. And I believed that for a long time.” A slow smile crept on Ashara’s face. “But when Revel got us out, and I had my lightsaber back, I finally understood.”

“Understood what?”

“The lightsaber. It’s a sword, but it’s also a shield. It all depends on how you use it.” That smile blossomed into a grin, and it made Fidelia smile, too. “The Jedi use their weapons to block a Sith’s lightning, and with a strong defense, they can turn it back against their enemy, so the Sith ends up destroying themselves. But a Sith can use their defense to hide their attack. They block with the lightsaber, and they can defeat others with lightning. Like how you did with Thanaton. Only, this time, instead of summoning your ghosts...” Her eyes dropped. “You had me.”

“Hmm.” Fidelia leaned in, resting her chin on the girl’s shoulder. “I daresay you’ve come away with more than an artifact on this mission.”

Ashara’s cheeks flushed with a lavender glow. “Thank you, my lord.”

“No, no.” Fidelia slid herself on top of the Togruta, pressing down until her hair was entangled with the girl’s horns and head-tails. “I’m a Sith Lord out  _ there. _ In here—like this—I’m Fidelia. I’m  _ yours. _ Do you understand?”

The kiss she received from Ashara was the only answer she needed.


End file.
